Charging tenant for missed appointments

Hi

Will it still be OK to charge tenants for missed appointments, such as when a tradesman attends at a pre appointed time and the tenant is not in? Clearly the landlord could be out of pocket when the plumber still charges a call out fee.

Thanks

Mark

As celebrated by OpenRent, reasonable charges such as this is now a prohibited payment - tenants can run riot and waste all the time they want.

Reference http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/4/schedule/1/enacted

Only the following are permitted;

  1. Rent (wow, thank you)
  2. Deposit
  3. A holding deposit
  4. Payment for defaults (not paying rent or losing a key)
  5. Changing the agreement / cutting it short
  6. If in the agreement - Council tax, utilities, TV licence, internet etc can also be charged to them

Hi Mark, as @Logical_Property_Dev says, this would not be a permitted payment under the new rules.

This must be very frustrating when it happens. There are some ways to minimise the risk of missed appointments with tradespeople that you probably already do:

  • giving the tradesperson a key so they can access the property directly (perhaps using a key drop service)
  • arranging the appointment at times the tenants are more likely to be in
  • sending the tenants a reminder about the visit the day before

One would think that most tenants are sensible when it comes to having their property maintained and facilitating access for their own benefit.

In my experience, that is not always the case, my last tenant refused entry when she was not home, went out or decline appointments and then complained to council maintainence was not done! She even blocked the entrance and refused to have her belongings moved out of the way. She even refused to purchase gas so we could not service the boiler or obtain GSC.

Keep a diary of events and witnessed by a third party if possible

Always document it and send reminders so that if a tenant later complains you can show you have made reasonable attempts to carry out said repair.